Newer and faster is not always better. On an Adventure bike
especially the long way round is almost always better. That is
definitely the case here.
Not that I’m
against development and the marvels of engineering but let's start at
the beginning.
Between the towns of
Paarl and Worcester in the Western Cape of South Africa lies the
formidable Du Toitskloof Mountains. A significant barrier between the
Cape Winelands and the South African interior. An idea for a tunnel
through the Du Toitskloof Mountains was conceived in the 1930s but
was put on hold due to the outbreak of World War II. The idea
developed into a pass over the mountains, the Du Toitskloof pass,
using the labour of Italian prisoners of war between 1942 and 1945.
Plans for a tunnel
was never abandoned though and Geological surveys and design started
in 1973, and excavation followed in 1984, tunneling from both ends
using drilling and blasting. The two drilling heads met with an error
of only 3 mm over its entire 3.9 km length. The tunnel was finally
opened on 18 March 1988. The tunnel was named after the French
Huguenot refugees that settled in the area in the late 1600s with one
of the Huguenot refugees being Francois Du Toit, after whom Du
Toitskloof was named.
This is what the
tunnel looks like from the Northern entrance (Worcester side)
traveling towards Paarl / Cape Town.
Riding through a tunnel on a bike sounds like fun and I once rode a
Harley Fatboy with Screaming Eagle pipes through the tunnel
specifically to hear that glorious Harley sound. It was pure
enjoyment... for about 30 seconds. Then the reality of so much
traffic and exhaust fumes in a single lane tunnel hit. For the next
almost 4 kilometers I was breathing dirty air while crawling along at
80km/h. On average 12,000 vehicles use the tunnel every day with up
to 22,500 vehicles using it daily on holidays. You get the idea.
So after I picked up
a new Honda CRF1100 Africa Twin in Cape Town and hit he road towards
George, ‘n nice 450km ride, the tunnel was never an option. The
pass over the mountain it would be and much more fun too!
The tunnel takes the
bulk of the traffic away from the pass and on top of that, they are
busy with maintenance work, so I encountered very little traffic on
the pass on the day.
This is the view of
the bridge on the South side of the tunnel as you start ascending the
pass:
Vehicles are quite exposed on that bridge and it has happened several
times that trucks, trailors and caravans have blown over in heavy
wind on that bridge. The tunnel gets closed in such conditions and
then all traffic gets diverted over the pass.
Another view of the
Southern exit of the tunnel from a little higher up:
The tunnel exits below with the bridge now in the distance.
On a brilliant sunny day, you can see all the way to Paarl rock and
even the Afrikaans
Language Monument, but it was slightly overcast today.
A plaque dedicated to the Italian POWs who helped build the pass.
Ascending to the top of the pass I found myself in the clouds, the
mountains and peaks around me totally obscured. The surrounding peaks
often sport a covering of snow, and the Mountain Club of South Africa
has huts in the area. Du Toits Peak is the highest mountain at 1,995
metres (6,545 ft). The vegetation is almost exclusively montane
fynbos of the Cape floristic region I wrote about
here.
Suffice to say that
if you ever have the opportunity, take the pass. The scenery is
totally worth it! (I might add some sunshine pics here in future).
The pass was named
after Francois Du Toit, a 17th-century Huguenot refugee and pioneer
who settled in the foothills. In 1930, engineer P.A. de Villiers (the
Outeniqua Pass between the towns of Oudtshoorn and my hometown
George was also receiving the same attention by the same engineer)
explored the idea of a road over the pass and in 1938 it was
investigated further by the National Roads Board with the route
finalised in 1940. The project was started in the summer of 1941/42
and the 40 km long pass was opened in March 1949 by Prime Minister DF
Malan.
The pass sports its
own 200m tunnel!
The tunnel has a date 1948 and is simply called Du Toitskloof Tunnel,
but getting more info on it seems almost impossible as all references
lead to the new bigger tunnel.
The other side of the mountain revealed a beautiful sunny day, and the
rest of the ride was absolutely glorious. The Africa Twin simply
munches the miles in an effortless manner.
Since the CRF1100 launched in 2020 there have been few updates apart
from new colours etc with the first biggish update coming in 2024 and
mainly on the Adventure Sport model with a smaller front wheel etc.
One of the differences between my previous 2021 bike and this 2023
model is the updated DCT programming. Drive mode was all but useless
on my 2021 bike and I always rode it in Sport 1. On the 2023 model
the Drive mode is actually usable if you are on a leisurely ride,
while the sport modes seem to be sportier, but also more
intuitive. I ended up riding this in Sport 2 the whole way and it was
rather sprightly! Definitely a big improvement – it makes the horns
on your head come out end entices you to be naughty.
I paid for that
at the petrol pump in the end but man – what a ride!!!
